Many electrical appliances and area lighting fixtures include housings that hold a number of the electrical components needed to operate the device. Such housings typically have a hinged access panel that give skilled personnel access to the equipment inside the housing for purposes of performing regular service and needed repairs on the apparatus. These housings have, however, a number of problems and shortcomings.
There are many occasions where access into certain housings is prevented by the presence of adjacent and abutting structures that obstruct and interfere in the full or even partial opening of the access panel. Physically detaching the panel from the housing is one solution but doing so may be quite strenuous since it will often involve removing fasteners and other hardware from the hinging mechanism to disassemble it from the housing. Moreover, removal of the panel can also be dangerous since the individual needing access to the housing may oftentimes perform this work from the top of a ladder.
If the housing is located outdoors and the hinging mechanism itself is mounted on the exterior of the housing, the hinging mechanism may also be exposed to the elements, leading to corrosion and other damage that will make opening and closing of the access panel difficult.
Quite apart from the harm created by the weather, access to the inside of many housings may often be difficult and time consuming because of their inconvenient location. Certain area lighting fixtures are, for instance, typically high in the air. The problems in working on such devices are compounded by the fact that, even with the access panel in its fully opened position, reaching into the housing to access all areas inside can still be awkward and frustrating.
This invention addresses these problems and shortcomings in a simple and inexpensive manner.